Dharma, I have had that mouth feeling too, in the first week of low-carbing. It was especially bad behind my bottom front teeth, a strange crusty feeling that wouldnt go away no matter how much I brushed! Went away by itself though after a few days.

I lost nearly two stone following this WOE last year, and I can honestly say, I never once gave calories a second thought (except to explain to other people that I wasn't counting them). I never wondered "have I eaten too much food today?" or restricted high fat foods in any way

Whoever was asking about maintenance...I hit target a couple of months ago and since then have eaten pulses and beans, oats, berries and some other fruit, dark chocolate and wine also carbier veg and other stuff if it was in a casseroles.( I've avoided bread and pasta and biscuits cos they make me bingey)) I've stayed the same or a couple of pounds lower until the Xmas binge ( still no bread and pasta but plenty of other crap!) which I am confident will go in two weeks of boot camp. It's a woe that seems manageable iykwim

Can you eat things like porridge oats and lentils, or are they banned?

Not on Bootcamp. However, once the ten weeks are finished/you have lost the weight you want to, this is the point at which you start to maintain. Here, the idea is to gradually add back in more carby foods, keeping a firm eye on the daily carb levels, until the weight starts to go back on.

Do you find that once you stop low-carbing, the weight piles back on again? I'm up for trying to make permanent changes to my lifestyle (eating more healthily, in smaller portions, and not eating between meals) but don't want to ban any foods from my diet long-term. Is that likely to be a problem?

It depends! If you just revert back to eating lots of bread/pasta/potatoes/fruit/chocolate, etc - then yes, the weight probably will pile on - it's why you put weight on in the first place. However, if you follow the rules of maintenance as outlined above, then you will be able to work out what you can tolerate and what you can't. The reality is that you will be able to eat anything you want to, just not all the time!

Scilly - have you measured yourself? Some people lose INCHES to start with instead of pounds

Also are you exercising as well?

I have had numerous arguments with WW leaders on first few weeks when I gained or didn't lose and they accused me of cheating. Which was especially lovely when in the queue of shame after being weighed in! Some people convert muscle to fat quickly which weighs heavier